Man found in Naples Municipal Airport pond was family's 'glue'

The Naples Police Department and Naples Fire-Rescue investigate the scene where a body was found floating and recovered from a small pond on Naples Municipal Airport property early Monday, Jan. 29, 2018.(Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

Carol Winters is still waiting for her son to climb up the steps to their East Naples apartment.

Her son Jacques Saintil went missing in late January — one week before his body turned up in a pond at the Naples Municipal Airport.

“Last time I saw him, he was walking down the steps and said, ‘Mommy, you smell good. Love you. I’ll be back.’ I watched him leave smiling. Now he’s never coming back.”

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Naples Police Department Public Information Officer Seth Finman briefs the media after a body was recovered from a small pond on the property of the Naples Airport early Monday, Jan. 29, 2018.
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According to Naples police, Saintil was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed off Airport-Pulling and Radio roads around 11 p.m. Jan. 23.

The vehicle's driver, whom police have not identified, told detectives Saintil walked away from the crash scene. That night, the driver said they saw Saintil dive into the pond where his body was found.

Saintil’s body was in the pond for six days before a passer-by found him and called 911 on Jan. 29.

His family reported him missing to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office the morning his body was found. According to the missing person report, Saintil’s sister told a deputy she repeatedly called his phone and couldn’t reach him.